


Of Wedding Parties and Penguins

by eyeorb



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Established Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Happy Nico, M/M, Nico loves his friends, drunk will cant flirt at all, hes cute tho so its ok, idk if it was clear from it being a percabeth wedding but theyre older, nico is trying not to laugh at him, so is nico, sowwy, the first chapter deals more w nico's friendships rather than his relationship, theyre cute and in love, this is a solangelo fic but the beginning is rlly percabeth heavy, will gets a little drunk, will is a complete dork
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24904561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeorb/pseuds/eyeorb
Summary: The legendary heroes, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, had gotten married. At the after party, Nico di Angelo gets a chance to talk to his friends again, while Will catches up with his siblings. Will gets a little tipsy and starts telling Nico all that he feels... including facts about penguin proposals.-----omg this summary tells you nothing oops but its gonna be cute i swear :(
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Austin Lake & Will Solace, Kayla Knowles & Will Solace, Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo & Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 11
Kudos: 63





	1. A Wedding Party

**Author's Note:**

> hey! so this first chapter isnt rlly solangelo heavy at all lmao,,,, that'll be in the second and third!!! this is a solangelo fic i just rlly cant,,,, write a percabeth wedding scene without making it percabeth heavy you know lmao! the first chapter i just wanted to have nico talk w his friends,,, i hope its still good! 

“You may now kiss the bride.”

And with that, the two legendary heroes were officially husband and wife, not that they needed any legal binding to cement their relationship. Since the first days in Camp Half Blood the bond between Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase was indisputable.

The fates had always had a special plan for them. A plan full of pain and death, one of fighting and monsters. It was an unfair plan, forcing them to live hyperaware that no day is promised, knowing from the beginning that their lives were to be short. Every demigod knew this, it was a price to pay for a ‘gift’ they had never asked for. However, hidden behind all this suffering and heartbreak, it was a plan of light. One of love and laughter, of swimming together when they couldn’t sleep, of underwater kisses and dumb nicknames. The fates could be cruel, sometimes, it seemed like all they did was take. But when they gave, it was beautiful.

Even during their darkest hours they had held onto each other, their love being the only thing that brought some solace to this otherwise brutal existence. Percy and Annabeth wouldn’t say their relationship was built on a need for survival; they would tell you they didn’t get together because they needed to survive, they survived because they got together. They knew that they wouldn’t have gotten out of Tartarus had they not been together, had they not been able to hold on to hope of building a life together. Now, it seemed that the life that had before only been a dream, a desperate attempt at imagining some good in a horrible place, was starting.

Percy tucked a strand of hair behind Annabeth’s ear. Despite the hours of hair styling (courtesy of the Aphrodite cabin) it had of course managed to fall out. It suddenly dawned on him what strand it was, the one piece of gray within the sea of gold.

Symbolism had never been his strong suit -- he tended to space out the many times his English teachers would spout novels about the usage of symbolism in the works of their curriculum -- but he was sure this represented something. What a coincidence that on the day of their wedding, a permanent reminder of their connection had managed to make itself seen.

He smiled at the thought, and Annabeth was suddenly overcome with emotion. So much pain, so much fighting and bleeding had led to this moment. Her entire life she had been in danger, she had run from home and fought for survival since childhood. But right now, she sees no monster. Only Percy, looking down at her with eyes full of love and a smile brighter than Apollo’s chariot. Percy laid his hand on her cheek, and pulled her in.

The revered Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase had just been married, and the camp couldn’t be happier.

* * *

Nico di Angelo stood in the corner of the room where Percy and Annabeth’s wedding afterparty was taking place, the rest of the demigods having gone off to form their own groups. Will Solace had come with him, but was talking with his siblings someplace else. It had been months since the Apollo siblings had last seen each other; since they'd all gone off to college or otherwise started their adult lives, they hadn’t had much of a chance to catch up. Will, having just entered medical school, was basically busy at almost all moments. Nico thought this must’ve been the first time he had taken a break in weeks.

_Always one to overwork himself_... he thought, thinking back on the numerous times he had found Will on the brink of passing out from exhaustion after a particularly dangerous prank by the Hephaestus cabin.

“Hey.”

Nico turned to see who had slid next to him, and saw Reyna Ramirez-Arellano standing there. She was in a black suit, her dark hair for once let out of its permanent braid. Nico was suddenly very aware of how young she looked, having joined the Hunters at sixteen. He didn’t much like to think much about her immortality; it brought up too many thoughts about Bianca, a wound that never quite seemed to heal. It had gotten better, sure, but time alone can never heal some wounds.

“Hey.”

Reyna smiled and looked at the rest of the party. They were all in groups, making up for months of not talking. They were cracking jokes and laughing, some were dancing and others drinking with their friends. If he hadn’t known, Nico might’ve taken the group as a completely normal party; not a group of demigods with enough problems to single handedly pay rent for every therapist in New York City.

“You reminded me of Bianca for a second,” Nico turned to look at the daughter of Bellona. It wasn’t her physique that brought up memories of standing outside Westover Hall, watching as the only person he had seemingly abandoned him, it was the context of knowing the life she had chosen. He would never fault her for that, just as he has grown to not fault Bianca for joining the hunt. But he couldn’t lie to himself and say it wasn’t painful.

“Did I?” her eyes softened as she looked back at Nico, “I wonder what the resemblance is.”

Nico laughed shortly, though there seemed to be a lack of humor in his titter.

“I guess there isn’t much.” He said, smiling at her.

The smile didn’t quite seem to reach his eyes, and Reyna took notice.

“Nico, I” --she looked to the side, as if contemplating what to say-- “I know you felt abandoned by Bianca. I just… I just want you to know I’d never try to make you feel that way. I’ll always be here for you. Whether I’m a Praetor or a Huntress, you’ll always have me by your side.”

Reyna reached out and lightly squeezed Nico’s hand. When they had met, casual physical contact had been out of the question. As he had grown more comfortable with himself and others, he had learned to accept touch-- even to appreciate it sometimes.

Nico squeezed her hand back, smiling. This time, Reyna noticed his eyes smiled with him.

“Thank you.”

It felt like so little to say, he thought. But how does he tell how much it means to him? His entire life he had run: run from his feelings, from camp, from anyone who wanted to get to know him. Reyna had once told him that they had one home, but now, they had two. It had always stuck to him, and now more than ever he thinks of what having those homes meant. It meant having people be there for you, it meant not having to worry they’d run. He could never explain how much it meant to hear reassurance that Reyna would live up to her words no matter what.

Reyna knew him better than to dismiss his words as ‘too little’. She knew it meant something far deeper than that, something Nico would never be able to say. She also knew better than to pry for more, to try and push what he really meant out, no matter how much she’d like to hear it. She didn’t have to reply, they both knew they would always be there for each other, no words necessary.

“It looks like someone’s looking for you,” Reyna said, glancing towards a beaming daughter of Pluto.

Hazel Levesque started walking towards them, her light pink dress flowing softly behind her. She looked beautiful, Nico thought. Though of course, she always did. Her smile never faltered in all the time it took to reach them, only growing brighter as she approached her brother. Once close enough, Hazel engulfed him in a hug, something Nico was very appreciative of. Hazel's hugs were better than any medicine, godly or not; they never failed at making him smile.

Hazel pulled back and looked at him, still flashing a smile so bright, he was sure it would cause some jealousy with a certain God up in Olympus. Nico leaned forward and lightly kissed her forehead, and he heard Reyna chuckle next to them.

“Well, I’m gonna go catch up with Piper. I’ll be with her if you guys want anything,” Reyna said, smiling at the two underworld siblings. They said goodbye and Reyna turned, walking to a table where Piper McLean was chatting up a forest nymph.

“Oh my gods, Nico! You look so good!” Hazel said, tugging at his suit jacket, “You always do but… right now you look amazing! Will really is lucky!”

Nico quickly blushed at that, immediately scanning the crowd in search of his boyfriend. He found Will sitting down, happily talking to Kayla and Austin. Will saw Nico look his way, and winked at him. Nico felt his face grow hotter as Will continued to do anything to get a reaction out of him. He waved, and then blew a kiss in Nico’s direction. He seemed satisfied with how much of a mess Nico had become, giving Nico one last smile before he was once again lost in conversation.

Hazel, who had apparently also been watching Will, laughed softly.

“You’re a mess di Angelo…” she said, reaching up to put a hand against his face, which was currently bright pink.

“Look at you, he winked at you for ten seconds and you’re left a blushing mess.” Hazel removed her hand from his face, giggling at her brother’s reaction.

“Shut up…” Nico replied, but any edge in his words was negated by his smile and the pink covering his face.

Although Nico and Hazel saw each other often, they still managed to find talking points. They discussed everything, from the wedding to how beautiful Annabeth looked, they talked about their lives, Hazel and Nico both complaining about their boyfriends tendencies to overwork themselves. Nico was only this comfortable around very few people, he might even say only her, Reyna, and Will. He could talk to his younger sister for hours, never once getting bored or tired of conversation. The fates had been cruel to Nico, they had taken everything from him. They took his home, his family, the life he knew, but they had also given him Hazel. He wasn’t so sure if he forgave them for everything else, but looking at his younger sister happily chatting about her Praetor days (she had enough stories about some girl named Lavinia to last a lifetime), he felt grateful for one of the few gifts he had been given.

Life had been hard for Nico di Angelo, he had lost almost everything and been through pain that no one should ever have to experience. Despite it all, when he thought of everyone: of his friends, of Hazel, and of Will and his mom, who had immediately treated him like a second son, he felt that things were looking up. He was moving on with his life, something he had never thought possible for such a troubled demigod like himself. Bianca, he thought, would be proud.


	2. Heart-Shaped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He had never seen Nico so confused. He was the son of the Greek god of the underworld, he could vanish into shadows, he had seen his boyfriends godly father turn into a mortal boy at some point; but no, Will’s penguin facts are what most confused him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god hey its been so long im so sorry but! i hope its good to make up for that lmao! but ive been busy with schoolwork and honestly have had no motivation to do anything but lay in bed so,,, oops. i finally got off my ass and wrote this tonight tho! hopefully the next chapter comes out at a reasonable date lmao! anyway theres some language in this bc kayla has the vocabulary of a 1600s sailor

Will Solace hadn’t seen his siblings much in the years since he had left camp, between graduating college and entering medical school, he found he barely had time to sleep for more than 3 hours a night, much less start catching up with his siblings. As he listened to an irate Kayla Knowels, who had definitely had a little too much, go on yet another rant about something related to her archery championships, Will realized how much he missed them. 

“They’re telling me I can’t go on to the next stage because of my classes, as if I’m not a literal war veteran? This must be a fucking joke from the gods, there’s literally no real reason behind it! Hey Kayla! You can fight in a war against an all powerful Earth goddess, the literal personification of the fucking Earth, but we draw the line at competing in college archery championships! Literally unbelievable,” She sighed in frustration, and took a sip of her water (Will had taken away her drinking privileges a while ago, no matter what, he was still her older brother.)

“Kayla, you’ve failed your math class like twice at this point,” Austin Lake pointed out, “archery championships aren’t getting you a diploma.” 

“Hmm… no.” Kayla replied simply, Will didn’t feel like pointing out that you can’t make something not true by just denying it, he just put his hand on her shoulder.

“Anyway, ignoring the fact the gods have it out for me, aren’t you doing some like cool saxophone shit or whatever?” Kayla stopped her pouting to look up at Austin.

“Oh, yeah, I’m playing for a few people right now. It’s pretty fun, I’d like to be doing something solo but I guess it pays the bills.” Kayla looked like she was about to start tearing up at this, for reasons that were yet to be understood by anyone even slightly sober. 

“Austin… you’re like… you’re like the bread in a sandwich, okay? A good piece of bread really completes a sandwich, but if you ask someone what their favorite part of a sandwich is they aren’t gonna say bread. But even with the same ingredients, a sandwich made from like… stale white bread and really good restaurant bread are completely different. But I like bread, Austin. I like bread.”

Austin looked more confused than anything, but he still reached out to grab Kayla’s hand and muttered a thank you. 

Will looked up at where Nico was, or well, had been. The corner where he once stood was now empty, apart from a lone napkin on the floor. Will had seen him with Reyna and Hazel, but now he saw Hazel happily talking to Frank and Reyna deep in conversation with Thalia. Nico was nowhere to be seen. 

“Hey guys... I’m gonna go look for Nico.” Will said as he stood up from their table.

“Have fun! Don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want dad to know about,” she winked at him, “though I guess there’s not much he would be opposed to. I swear the Apollo cabin gets bigger every year…” 

Will just stuck his tongue out at her, and she happily responded the same way.

The Apollo siblings had very mature conversations.

* * *

Will found Nico sitting on a bench near a glass door. The hallway was empty apart from them, and the door, which Will could see led to a beach, let the moonlight in; the light fell on Nico’s face beautifully, perfectly illuminating his features; Will was struck by how lucky he was. He must have stood there for a while, because Nico looked up at him and smiled. 

“I can see you, you know.” 

Will’s breath hitched in his throat. Nico looked incredible sitting there, with his moonlight brightened face and all black suit-- all black apart from a yellow flower Will had chosen for him. His hair was getting long and it was tied up, though at this point individual strands were falling in his face. Not for the first time, Will realized he wanted nothing more than to see that face everyday, a thought equally terrifying and exhilarating. 

“Will?”

“I love you.” 

Curse his tipsy mind.

Nico looked taken aback by his suddenness, but his face fell into a smile. 

“I love you too but… what’s up?”

Instead of answering, he walked over to Nico and sat down, adjusting himself so he was laying on his lap, looking up at him. He was suddenly feeling very giddy, and promptly broke out in giggles. 

“Will… are you drunk?”

“A little?” It came out more like a question than he wanted. 

Nico rolled his eyes and started playing with Will’s hair. Will leaned into the touch, unable to stop the small sound of contentment from escaping his lips. He felt Nico place a kiss on his forehead, and any rational thought he had was gone. 

“Did you know penguins propose to each other?” he blurted out.

He had never seen Nico so confused. He was the son of the Greek god of the underworld, he could vanish into shadows, he had seen his boyfriends godly father turn into a mortal boy at some point; but no, Will’s penguin facts are what most confused him.

“Cool?”

The side of Will still holding onto sobriety knew how stupid this was, he didn’t even know where this was going or why he knew this. But the rest of him wasn’t stopping now. 

“Yeah! Once they propose they mate for life,” He looked up at Nico, his brown eyes looking at him with a mix of confusion and adoration. If him and Nico were penguins, he thought, he’d propose to him.

Once again, his sober side came up to remind him of how stupid that thought was and how confused he was to even have it. 

“Oh. What do they propose with? I don’t think they have rings…” Nico looked desperate to keep this conversation going; going where, he doubted even the gods knew. 

“Little pebbles and stuff,” Will answered, his voice trailing off a bit.

“Nice. Is there a reason you’re telling me this though?” Nico longed for even a bit of context, though when he looked down at Will quietly giggling to himself he doubted there was any. 

“I… I don’t know.” 

Nico couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Alright,” he said, leaning down to place another kiss on the other boy’s temple.

They stayed like that for a bit, alone together in an otherwise empty hallway, illuminated only by the moonlight coming from outside. They could hear muffled music coming from the main room, strong bass mixing with the soft sounds of the waves outside. 

Will nuzzled himself deeper into Nico’s lap, and Nico thought he might fall asleep. Suddenly, he cracked one eye open, and looked up at him. 

“I wanna marry you, but I don’t know what to do for the ring…” he said so quietly, Nico thought he had imagined it.

“W-What?”

Will didn’t seem to be listening to him, too caught up in his ring dilemma. 

“It’s so easy for those penguins, they just need to find a pretty rock. I could do that…” 

Though this made absolutely no sense to Nico, Will shot up as if he had discovered the secrets to the universe. He turned to look at Nico, grabbing his hands and smiling. His eyes were sparkling as he said, “I’m gonna give you a penguin proposal, then I’ll actually do it.” The sober side of his mind had long since abandoned him. Before Nico could even begin to process this, much less think of a reply, Will was pulling him up and leading him out the door running. 

They ran down to the beach hand in hand, Will smiling at Nico as if he had hung the moon and all the stars, and Nico couldn’t stop himself from smiling back. He still had absolutely no clue what was happening, but he knew he could accept anything as long as Will was with him, including whatever the hell this was. Never letting go of his hand, Will bent down and started looking through the sand. He would pick up little pebbles and shells he found, but none seemed to satisfy him. Will pulled him along the length of the beach, slowly getting closer to the water. 

“Will, you’re gonna get us wet…” He was silenced with a (sandy) finger against his lips, and he heard Will laugh softly in front of him. Nico wiped the sand off his mouth with the back of his hand, taking in the scene around him. The sea was especially calm today, lightly crashing against the shore. Before, Nico had hated the sea; it was a representation of his infatuation with Percy Jackson, his fear of himself and his feelings. Even now, the ocean made him wary; children of Hades weren’t safe in Poseidon’s domain. But the ocean didn’t remind him of Percy anymore, nor did it remind him of every harmful thought he had been indoctrinated with, it honestly didn’t remind him of anything now (except maybe a certain blond boy with a surfer’s tan).

The moonlight cast a soft, white light on Will’s features. His blond hair shining as he looked intensely down at the sand. His brows were furrowed, and his tongue stuck out a bit. Nico smiled to himself, as he looked to the sea. No, the ocean didn’t remind him of his old infatuation; when he looked at the waves crashing against the shore, or when he looked at the vastness of the blue water, and the way it sparkled under the moonlight-- he could only think of Will Solace. The wave’s fierce determination to crash against the shore reminded him of Will, the way he would stop at nothing to make sure the people he cares about take care of themselves; many times sacrificing himself in the process. The light glimmering across the vast blue reminded him of the way Will’s eyes shone when he was happy, the twinkle they got on the nights he would sneak out to the Hades cabin.

Will pulled out a pebble, and immediately perked up. He looked up at Nico, still squatting in the sand and using his free hand to hold Nico’s, and smiled. Will stood up, and showed Nico his stone. It was smooth and ovular, small enough to fit in your pocket.

“Look! It’s perfect! It’s heart-shaped!” Will smiled at him so brightly Nico felt bad for having to disagree.

“Will… that’s a bean… at most. It’s nowhere near heart shaped.”

“Does that mean you don’t want it?” Will seemed to deflate at the thought, his smile faltering.

“Yes, I want your rock _i_ _diota_.”

Will smiled again, pulling Nico into a tight embrace. When they pulled apart, Will looked at him and told him, “Here’s my proposal rock then. We’re penguin-married now.”

“We haven’t had a penguin-wedding yet,” Nico pointed out.

Will frowned, “I guess not… we’re still penguin-engaged though!” Will smiled, looking at Nico so lovingly it almost made him want to cry. Even if he was trying to imitate a flightless bird's mating practices.

“Alright,” Nico said laughing as Will handed him the stone. He put it in his pocket, next to the flower Will had given him earlier that morning. Will seemed so happy by this step in their relationship, a step that Nico is sure absolutely no one else has ever taken, that Nico made a promise to himself that he would honor the small, grey bean shaped rock, putting it somewhere in the apartment where everyone could see. Nico thought he’d have fun explaining to Will the next morning why there was a stone on the center of their table.

Will laughed, pulling Nico in for a kiss. They stood like that for a while, laughing in between kisses in each other's arms, Nico could feel the tide itching towards them, every once in a while he’d feel the cold of the water hitting him; but he didn’t care about that right now, not when his penguin-fiancé was looking at him with love in his eyes and a giant smile on his face. When Will pulled away from yet another kiss, Nico cupped his face with his hands, lightly stroking his cheek with his thumbs. “No amount of kisses is gonna make the rock less bean shaped, _mi caro_ ,” Nico whispered, watching as Will’s cheeks stained pink at the endearment.

“Fine, I guess you don’t love me,” Will fake pouted, turning his chin up and to the side. He quickly started giggling again, leaning his head into the crook of Nico’s neck and nuzzling softly into his skin. Nico laughed softly, pressing a kiss to his hair.

“Shut up, _idiota_ ,” he said as he felt Will place a kiss on his neck. They stood like that for some time. In each other’s arms, Nico looked out at the sea and the moon; he could feel the slight weight of the rock in his pocket. He dug his face into Will’s soft curls, smiling. He couldn’t wait until they advanced from just a penguin-engagement to a real one.


End file.
